1. Field of the General Inventive Concept
The present general inventive concept relates to a method and apparatus to compensate an image, and a method and apparatus to process an image, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus to compensate a faded image, and a method and apparatus to process a faded image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photos have been used for a long period of time as a medium for recalling the past. Recently, as digital cameras have been rapidly spread, many users store photos in a memory, or upload photos to a webpage without printing photos, in order to see photos. However, even in such a situation, a considerable number of users print and use photos.
In general, chromaticity of an image captured by a camera varies according to chromaticity of a light source used in capturing process. However, as time passes, chromaticity of a photo is changed, and thus the photo becomes faded generally. In particular, a speed or degree of fading is determined according to an environment such as a temperature or humidity, the characteristics of photographic paper, or the characteristics of material used to print the photo.
Thus, if a user does not have the original data or film of a faded photo, the user may not obtain a photo having original chromaticity.
Thus, technologies of compensating faded photos to have original chromaticity have been developed. However, these technologies are used to compensate a photo of which chromaticity of all parts of the photo is uniformly changed. Thus, it is difficult to compensate a photo of which chromaticity is nonuniformly changed.
Therefore, there is a need for a technology of compensating a photo image to have chromaticity similar to original chromaticity.